The WoodenBoat Forum is sponsored by WoodenBoat Publications, publisher of WoodenBoat magazine. The Forum is a free service, and much like the "free" content on Public Radio, we hope you will support WoodenBoat by subscribing to this fabulous magazine. To get WoodenBoat delivered to your door or computer, mobile device of choice, etc, click WB Subscriptions.

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ. You'll find answers to the frequently asked questions as well as basic rules. No need to register unless you would like to participate, although some images will only show if you are registered/logged-in.

You will need to register
before you can post: click the red register link or the register tab, above, right.

Selling/self promotion postings are verboten on the Forum. To advertise, take a look at WoodenBoat Advertising, or use your Google Adwords account if you want to advertise on the Forum.

news to "drop" mid-day today...

Maddow observed last night that there are 2 events just before lunch today that are likely making the White House occupant sweat, and may be prompting his recent diversion activities. First, all of the sealed information related to the Cohen convictions are to be released. The judge vehemently rejected the government's request to redact some information to "protect 3rd party privacy interests.". Because the judge asserted that the information was of "national importance", and that citizens' right to information to hold "representatives" and "institutions" accountable is so fundamental in America that it "pre-dates the Constitution."

To be clear, the only "representative" of citizens involved was... Trump? And the citizens' "institutions" affected would be... the Presidency? Perhaps the Department of Justice, which unaccountable did not actually conduct requested interviews with Trump organization executives involved with the cheques written to reimburse Michael Cohen for the hush money payments leading him to a jail cell...

In fact, the information is only becoming available because SDNY has unaccountably closed that investigation, despite the dangling threads. Why? Why when, before Barr became AG in February, things were full steam ahead? But after, there were apparently 5 months with no contact at all between investigators and the Trump organization - including with those Executives notified to prepare to be interviewed.

Hmm.

Thing two, of course, is Epstein's hearing. And Epstein may be jostling this morning to consider whether to deal with prosecutors again, naming names. In 2010, Epstein asserted Constitutional rights to not answer questions about whether Trump had ever socialized with him in the company of women under 18 years of age.

Hmm.

If I use the word "God," I sure don't mean an old man in the sky who just loves the occasional goat sacrifice. - Anne Lamott

Re: news to "drop" mid-day today...

I watched that also. Barr knows what is in those dedacted documents. If it's damaging to Trump, he will find a way to block it's 11 a.m. release at least temporarily.
The Epstein issue? That will be interesting. Nothing will change Trump's base. Only information that McConnell and his crew can't defend or ignore will cause them to turn against Trump. Until that happens, Trump is safe. A sad case, but there it is. It's the reason I couldn't sleep for days after the 2016 election.

Re: news to "drop" mid-day today...

Originally Posted by Rich Jones

I watched that also. Barr knows what is in those dedacted documents. If it's damaging to Trump, he will find a way to block it's 11 a.m. release at least temporarily.
The Epstein issue? That will be interesting. Nothing will change Trump's base. Only information that McConnell and his crew can't defend or ignore will cause them to turn against Trump. Until that happens, Trump is safe. A sad case, but there it is. It's the reason I couldn't sleep for days after the 2016 election.

Sooner or later, and probably sooner, someone is going to determine that his duty to the Constitution supersedes any directive from Barr.

Re: news to "drop" mid-day today...

Because for all her editorial agenda about facts ... she doesn't say something unless there's actual documentation (in this case, court documents) of facts. Like, the reason I know some details about what's going to be the general topic of today's announcements ... is because she read the court transcripts verbatim. Put photos of the documents on-screen as she read them, so we could read along. And because Maddow does that with meaningful stories which frankly aren't sometimes being flagged at all by other news sources. Did you know from any other source, for instance, that Barr's ascension to AG coincides with roughly the last time FBI investigators or DoJ prosecutors had any contact at all with the Trump executives who signed Cohen's reimbursement cheques? Though a couple of weeks earlier the FBI told them to ready themselves for interviews? Or that Cohen's judge, when asked earlier this week to keep secret the very evidence which convicted Cohen for paying hush money, erupted in his written response saying that there's "national importance" to revealing the evidence ... and that "every American" needed the opportunity to see it? Me either.

If I use the word "God," I sure don't mean an old man in the sky who just loves the occasional goat sacrifice. - Anne Lamott

Re: news to "drop" mid-day today...

I mostly enjoy watching her since her show is a change from all the other MSNBC shows, which are basically all the same thing covering the same topics.
She goes outside the box, digs into the weeds and uncovers stuff that others don't see.
A lot of the time, though, she'll be screaming about a hairs-on-fire story that turns out to be nothing or she's trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
I hope last night's story bears fruit.

Re: news to "drop" mid-day today...

Rich, I think that "mountain out of a molehill" thing sometimes occurs because she's frequently trying to follow stories that others aren't covering. That have got overshadowed by this or that traumatic tweet of the day.

If I use the word "God," I sure don't mean an old man in the sky who just loves the occasional goat sacrifice. - Anne Lamott

Re: news to "drop" mid-day today...

Maddow sometimes takes a while to get to the point, but probably because she has thoroughly researched the FACTS as others have pointed out. I'm constantly amazed at how polarized we have become regarding our news sources. I have tried and tried to watch Fox News and simply can't get past about 5 or 10 minutes without shouting at my TV about how completely wrong they are on so many things and how many FACTS (there's that pesky word again) that they ignore. I'm sure the Fox crowd feels the same way about CNN and MSNBC and someone like Maddow. But I have no doubt that the truth and FACTS (dang that word) are far more in abundance on those channels than they are on Fox. But Fox seems to be an opiate filled pacifier for a lot of people who just can't wean themselves away.

Re: news to "drop" mid-day today...

Originally Posted by AlanMc

i gave it thought. she built her ratings on russia gate. now they're in the toilet. thought over.

Perhaps you could have paired your "thought" with some data research, rather than simply editorial research. If you only read ratings commentary from the Right sphere (whether Fox or Daily Caller or etc.), you'd maybe think that Maddow's ratings were plummeting. In fact her viewer count is down slightly in Q2 this year; after finishing 2018 with #2 ratings across the board for cable news shows in 2018 (behind Hannity), she's now at #3. And while Maddow had taken the #1 ratings spot with adults aged 25-54 in Q1 (displacing Hannity), Hannity had regained that spot in Q2 pushing Maddow into 2nd place for that slice of the demographic. Considering, though, that Fox is the only cable network courting Trumplicans and MSNBC is competing with CNN for the same not-Trumplican cable news audience ... that's hardly the "toilet." (https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/here...2-2019/407842/)

If I use the word "God," I sure don't mean an old man in the sky who just loves the occasional goat sacrifice. - Anne Lamott

Re: news to "drop" mid-day today...

Like Tom I mostly listen rather than watch. She uses documentary evidence to support her story. Does she always get it right ....no..... but the stuff she presents is, as far as I can see as close to real facts, just perhaps not the whole story. I often do not have the time or energy to catch her show, it is a from time to time thing for me, possibly weekly.

Re: news to "drop" mid-day today...

"Cohen's hush money unredacted docs released". More to follow.Given that reds don't give a **** about all the women he's ****ed and abused, I expect he's going to sue to get all the hush money back.

Documents filed on public docket today can be found here: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket...tates-v-cohen/. A main document, and nine supporting documents - search warrants applied for and granted, and the sworn affidavits by FBI agents providing probable cause to get those warrants. The affidavits each appear to lay out the same narrative (verbatim) describing the sequence and timing of calls, and the timing and transcripts of texts among Michael Cohen, Donald Trump, Hope Hicks, David Pecker and Keith Howard both in late October when negotiating and confirming the Stormy Daniels payment, and in early November (the eve of the election) re the Karen McDougal payment. Interestingly, Cohen also placed calls to Kellyanne Conway, though it does not seem that they actually connected.It could hardly be more obvious what happened - the text transcripts are very clear. Some of the texts are literally sent within 30 seconds of Cohen getting off the phone with Trump, or in shared phone calls with Trump and Hope Hicks.

If I use the word "God," I sure don't mean an old man in the sky who just loves the occasional goat sacrifice. - Anne Lamott